11 



warm fingers, and then they peep out of their winter coverings, 

 and say, "It is Spring, let us come out and Iqok about us." 



The intelHgent farmer sees God in Nature. He walks every 

 day in God's great Temple, compared with which Royal Solo- 

 mon's stupendous fane was a mere hovel. Every thing in Nature 

 is full of charming religious lessons to those who take pains to 

 learn how to read her book. Look at that great tree in the 

 midst of the meadow, and the cattle ruminating in its shadow. 

 Just think how much God has done in making that shadow. We 

 put up an awnin"g, a tent, a blind, a curtain, to keep out the sun ; 

 but what are these to the shadow of a tree ! No art of man can 

 rival that. The flickering leaves let every breath of air pass 

 through, but keep out the sun. They let in a green, soft light, 

 but keep out the heat. They do not become heated themselves, 

 like a roof or tent, but absorb in their succulent texture and liv- 

 ing surface the hottest of rays, keeping always cool. They even 

 let little golden threads of sunlight pass through, emptied of all 

 their heat in the process ; and they open and close, giving visions 

 of the blue deep sky, and the white snowy cloud masses travelling 

 across the depths of heaven. Thus it happens that a shadow, — 

 that is, something which is nothing, the negation of Hght, — becomes 

 by God's wisdom the medium of comfort and emblem of peace. 



If " the undevout astronomer is mad," the undevout farmer is 

 at least stupid. If the one ought to go to Worcester, the other 

 should be sent to Dr. Howe, at South Boston, to be put either 

 into his Idiot Asylum or his Blind Asylum. There was a hunter 

 in Plymouth who had killed over 150 deer with the same rifle, 

 who died this summer. Last year in the drought, there was talk 

 of holding a prayer meeting in the woods, to pray for rain. One 

 of those bar-room philosophers who do not think there is any thing 

 in heaven or earth not dreamt of in their philosophy, and so are 

 wiser than Shakspeare, — said, " All the prayer meetings in the 

 world would not make it rain, if the time had not come according 

 to the laws of nature." The hunter looked at him and said, 

 " Perhaps down here in Plymouth town, you can do without God. 

 I don't know. But I tell you, up in the woods, a man would feel 

 mighty lonesome, if he could not talk with God about things." 

 So I think the farmer on his fields must feel mighty lonesome, if 



